1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to the securing of wire harness shields and more specifically to a releasable device for reliably mounting a wire harness shield to an engine part in a vehicle.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Wire harness shields help maintain the dependability of the circuits and electrical connections within a wire harness. Providing a wire harness with a shield shelters the harness from environmental hazards within an engine compartment of a vehicle. These hazards could include moisture, grime and heat. Using the shield to secure a portion of the wire harness in a fixed position can safeguard the harness from damage caused by vehicle movement and vibration. The shields often need to be securely attached to a vehicle panel or engine part to furnish this protection.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,980 discloses a mounting mechanism for securing a wire harness cover to a fuel injector rail. The mounting mechanism includes a locking structure attached to a base of a wire harness cover. The locking structure has a pivoting lever biased in a lock position. A projection on the lever is received in an aperture of a mounting tab extending from a fuel rail to lock the cover on the fuel rail. If the wire harness is within the cover, to release the locking structure an operator has to grasp a handle extending from the lever between two fingers and pull the handle away from the rest of the locking structure. The lever is thereby pivoted to a release position, removing the projection from the mounting tab aperture. The wire harness cover can then be pulled away from the mounting tab and fuel rail. This becomes more time consuming and awkward to manage as longer wire harness covers require multiple locking structures. The handle is also difficult to find since the mounting mechanism is located beneath the cover. The handle therefore needs to be specially shaped to allow the operator to identify it by feel.
Relatively complex locking structures having simpler intended operation are also known in the art. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a shroud 10 for receiving and protecting an electrical relay (not shown). An electrical connector 12 attached to a wire harness electrically connects the relay into a circuit within the wire harness. The lock structure comprises a stationary catch 14 on the shroud. A lever comprising split portions 16 is pivotally mounted on the connector. When the shroud is fit over the relay and connector, the catch forces the lever outward until the catch is under inner ridges of the lever split portions 16. Then the lever snaps back over the catch and the shroud is secured on the connector. Pushing the lever inward spreads the ridges beyond a periphery of the catch and thereby releases the catch, allowing the shroud and relay to be disconnected from the connector. This particular locking structure doesn't work very well in practice, often requiring a lot of force to separate the lever split portions and two-handed operation to separate the shroud and connector. There seems to be a clear need in the art for an inexpensive, easy-to-operate mounting structure that reliably secures a wire harness shield within an engine compartment of a vehicle.